n a t i o n a l a c a d e m y o f s c i e n c e s

Any opinions expressed in this memoir are those of the author(s)and do not necessarily reflect the views of the

National Academy of Sciences.

p e t e r c a r l g o l d m a r k

1906—1977

A Biographical Memoir by

e r n s t W e B e r

Biographical Memoir

Copyright 1985national aCademy of sCienCes

washington d.C.

PETER CARL GOLDMARK

December 2, 1906 - December 8, 1977

BY ERNST WEBER

WIDELY RECOGNIZED as one of the world's leading elec-tronic innovators and inventors, Peter Carl Goldmark

also had the initiative to translate his ideas into culturalcontributions of the first order. Though color television asnow brought into homes worldwide is a different systemfrom his invention—the so-called field sequential system—without his initiative, introduction of color television mighthave been long delayed. Although several efforts towardproducing long-playing records were in progress, Gold-mark's concentration on 33-1/3 r.p.m. succeeded. WhenPresident Carter presented to him the National Medal ofScience in 1977, just a few days before his death, he added tothe citation the personal remark that he was particularlygrateful to Dr. Goldmark for developing the long-playingrecord.

Peter Carl Goldmark was born on Aradi Street No. 60, inBudapest, Hungary on December 2, 1906. Little is knownabout his early years. From his autobiographical book, Mav-erick Inventor, which he published with the aid of Lee Edson,a free-lance writer, we take it that his mother was verymusical. She played violin and tried to have Peter learnpiano, but since he apparently hated the teacher his motherthen arranged cello lessons with a more compatible instruc-

293

294 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS

tor, and Peter eventually joined in the chamber musicensemble in their home. He thus grew up in a classicalmusical environment, which had strong influences on hisdecisions in later life.

At the end of World War I in 1919, the family moved toVienna to escape the communist regime that took overHungary. In that post-war period—with utter confusion anddisorganization everywhere in Europe—Peter's interest inradio led him to study science or engineering. Unable toregister at the Technische Hochschule in Vienna, he spentthe year 1923—1924 at the equivalent institution in Berlin-Charlottenburg, where he became acquainted with DennisGabor, a doctoral student. Returning to Vienna, he eventual-ly earned his Ph.D. degree in physics in 1931. During theseyears he also visited with John Logie Baird in London. Bairdhad carried the early television in black and white to thepoint where the BBC transmitted experimental programs ofvery small image size. Because he was unable to obtain a jobwith Baird, Goldmark accepted a position as television engi-neer at Pye Radio, Ltd., in Cambridge, England. The generaldepression took its toll, and in 1933 the company discontin-ued operations. Goldmark returned to Vienna, and byfortunate chance he encountered the radio correspondentH. V. Kaltenborn of CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System),who suggested that he travel to America. Indeed, Goldmarkleft Vienna and arrived in New York, with little savings, onSeptember 8, 1933. Not wanting to use the introduction toCBS that Kaltenborn had given him, Goldmark worked inodd jobs and as an independent consultant from 1933 to theend of 1935. On January 1, 1936, he was able to begin moreappropriate work as Chief Television Engineer at CBS, aposition he held until 1944. He started with two engineers,one of whom was John Hollywood, who was to stay with himfor most of his professional life.

PETER CARL GOLDMARK 295

His staff soon expanded rapidly. In addition to improv-ing the CBS black and white television system and compo-nents, he concentrated early on his research efforts in colortelevision, using mechanical methods that he brought to ahigh level of perfection. He first demonstrated the systempublicly on August 27, 1940, in New York, with sequentialprojection of the three primary colors, resulting in full colorof the image at the rate of twenty pictures a second. Thedemonstration was broadcast from the top of the ChryslerBuilding in New York, and it impressed the technical com-munity. War clouds were gathering, however, requiring aredirection of his efforts.

In the spring and summer of 1942 the Radio ResearchLaboratory (RRL) was established at Harvard University,and Goldmark and four associates, including John Holly-wood, joined RRL. Goldmark was put in charge of a groupdeveloping electronic counter measure receivers. The ar-rangements with the Columbia Broadcasting System allowedGoldmark's group to continue as employees of CBS, and theCBS laboratory was converted to work for RRL. Goldmarktook considerable initiative in developing an interest in abranch laboratory to be based in England, and was one of themoving spirits in getting it started. When in the fall of 1943the American British Laboratory (ABL) of Division 15 of theNational Defense Research Committee (NDRC) was estab-lished under contract with Harvard University to workclosely with the British Telecommunications Research Estab-lishment (TRE) in Malvern, England, Goldmark was madetechnical supervisor of the laboratory, and then acting direc-tor. He returned to the United States in December 1943 toorganize a supporting activity at Columbia BroadcastingSystem, and he became director of the Engineering andResearch Department at Columbia Broadcasting System in1944, continuing his association with Harvard University.

296 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS

After the end of the war, Goldmark again took up thedevelopment of color television using the field sequentialmethod. He received unexpected support when it becameapparent that closed-circuit black and white television wasfound to lack realism in operating-room class demonstra-tions. With his associates, Goldmark could develop a demon-stration system in live color that was successfully shown at theAmerican Medical Association's annual meeting in AtlanticCity in December 1949, and led to many further uses oftelevision in medical education.

On the basis of such success, in 1949 Goldmark proposedto the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) thatcolor television broadcasting be authorized using his three-color sequential transmission of images at the rate of twenty-four pictures per second. Though the FCC adopted thisrecommendation in 1950, and transmission started in NewYork in 1951, it was generally recognized that the system wasincompatible with the well-established electronic black andwhite television system, for which about ten million receiverswere then in use. General use of the new color system wouldhave required the acquisition by the public of second,different receivers for color television that could not be usedfor the monochrome transmissions. The impracticality ofsuch a scheme brought the pioneering broadcasts to an endin late 1951.

Though the basic requirements for a compatible colortelevision system had been developed by the First NationalTelevision System Committee (NTSC) before the action ofthe FCC, it now became urgent to translate these into anacceptable practical standard. The second National Televi-sion System Committee succeeded in 1953 in making adefinitive system proposal to the FCC, which accepted it. In1954 color television broadcasting started with the fullyelectronic system that is now in use, and represents a

PETER CARL GOLDMARK 297

remarkable achievement that might have been many moreyears in development had it not been for the challenge byGoldmark's daring initiative.

Paralleling Goldmark's work on color television, the Co-lumbia Record Division, and others, had started to developalternate means for improving the quality of sound record-ing systems, including use of speeds lower than the standard78 r.p.m. and finer grooves with less noise background. As atalented musician, Goldmark loved classical music; it was hisinitiative that launched the 1948 "long playing record," a discrecording of 33-1/3 r.p.m. with microgrooves, that quicklywon worldwide approval.

In 1951, CBS created the CBS Laboratories with Gold-mark as vice president. In 1954 he assumed the presidency, aposition he held until his retirement on December 31, 1971.Under Goldmark's leadership, the scientific and engineeringstaff expanded to over 200, and the laboratories, which weretransferred to new buildings in Stamford, Connecticut in1958, became one of the leading electronic and communica-tion research centers in the country. As a result of theLaboratories' work, his field sequential color television sys-tem—which had become lighter and smaller than the origi-nal version—was used by the Apollo Astronauts in 1969 tobring man's first landing on the moon to televisions every-where on the globe.

Some of the important innovations that Goldmark'sgroup initiated were the first ultra-high-speed, computer-tape driven photo composing system; the high-resolutionphotographic system of NASA's Lunar Orbiter; the ElectronicVideo Recording (EVR), which was instrumental in stimulat-ing industrial endeavors leading to video disc technology;and contributions to magnetic recording, data storage, anddisplay. The more than 160 inventions for which Goldmarkwas either directly or collaboratively responsible covered the

298 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS

fields of acoustics, television, phonograph recording, andfilm reproduction. Among them were the first "high fidelity"packaged, integrated phonograph, which used the volume ofair within its enclosure to enhance the quality of sound; apioneering reverberation generating device for livening thequality of recorded and broadcast music; a "talking book"phonograph, the size of a cigar box, capable of four hours ofrecorded sound on a single 7-inch disc; a "crispening system"for sharpening television images; a rapid transmission sys-tem for recording up to thirty educational TV programs on aone-hour reel of magnetic tape; and a music-teaching pro-gram. During his last decade as head of the CBS Labora-tories, Goldmark devoted considerable time and effort toeducational technology. He believed firmly that in suchmanner it would be possible to bring education to bothchildren and adults who otherwise would be unable to affordit. His endeavors in the direction of electronic video record-ing were designed to make available—at relatively low cost—the best of filmed lectures, courses, textbooks, and othercultural programs to people who might otherwise not seeksuch opportunities or who would not be able to achieve suchcontacts.

Upon his mandatory retirement from CBS Laboratories,Goldmark founded his own firm, the Goldmark Communi-cations Corporation, in Stamford, Connecticut, and servedas president and as director of research. He continuedresearch and development in the areas of cable televisionand satellite communications, as well as others that he felthad the potential to improve the quality of life for mankind.

Goldmark devoted considerable time and effort to workfor the National Research Council, serving on the Commit-tee on Telecommunications of the National Academy ofEngineering from its organization in 1968 until 1974, and as

PETER CARL GOLDMARK 299

chairman of its Panel on Urban Communication from 1968to 1972, when it rendered its final report.

Stimulated by these activities, Goldmark sparked thesomewhat visionary concept of a new rural society that wouldcall for the imaginative use of telecommunications to revital-ize rural towns. In fact, he conceived the idea of a nationalpilot study, "The New Rural Society" (NRS). Upon therequest of a Presidential Advisory Committee in 1970, theNational Academy of Engineering selected a panel of ex-perts to study, under Goldmark's direction, ways and meansto reduce substantially the critical problems of crime, pollu-tion, narcotics and overcrowding in the large cities, while atthe same time searching for ways to make rural towns moreattractive for living, as well as to encourage the establishmentof industrial plants in rural America by applying establishedcommunications technology in novel ways. The principal aimwas to reverse the long trend of migration from rural areasinto cities and to offer a real choice between living in urbanor in rural areas. With funding from the Department ofHousing and Urban Development (HUD), Goldmark orga-nized a study project with Fairfield University in Stamford.He selected, upon suggestion by the governor of Connecti-cut, who took keen interest in the study, the area of Wind-ham County in northeastern Connecticut, with Willimanticas its main city, as a model. Unfortunately, Goldmark did notlive to carry this project to full fruition.

Goldmark had always been interested in causes of humanrights and the improvement of living conditions. He servedas chairman of numerous civic programs, including TheUrban Coalition in Stamford, Connecticut, and the Anti-Poverty Agency. In particular, he spearheaded a nationallyrecognized rehabilitation and training program for somefive hundred low- and middle-income families of Stamford's

300 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS

Southfield Village. He also served as trustee of the Connecti-cut Education Telecommunications Corporation.

From its beginning in 1972 until his death, Goldmarkserved on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) ImpactProgram Advisory Committee. The group was to advise,from an engineering as well as a multi-disciplinary point ofview, the Department of Transportation and the Depart-ment of Housing and Urban Development as they proceed-ed with the program management of an extensive series ofstudies underway on the impact of the BART system on theSan Francisco Bay Area.

Additionally, when the National Research Council wasreorganized, Goldmark served during 1975-1976 on theExecutive Committee of the Assembly of Engineering, whichtook over the administration of the committees formerlyadministered by the Council of the National Academy ofEngineering. He also served on the Space ApplicationsBoard of the Assembly of Engineering (1974-1975) and onthe General Advisory Committee for the Academy Forum,National Academy of Sciences (1972-1973). During 1977,shortly before his death, he was also invited to join theMetropolitan Communications Systems Study Steering Com-mittee, under the umbrella of the Committee on Telecom-munications, now in the Assembly of Engineering.

Peter Goldmark was a member of a number of profes-sional societies and associations and was elected to the fellowgrade in most of them. He also received many awards, whichare listed following this text, together with a list of the moreimportant publications that bear upon his interests andachievements.

In everyday contact, Peter was a soft-spoken gentlemanwho could, nevertheless, be quite impatient when meetingresistance. He always had visions of what might be or shouldbe, and he could be rather persistent in pushing his convic-

PETER CARL GOLDMARK 301

tions. He contributed many new ideas in numerous technicalareas, although they were not always fully evaluated orconsistent with penetrating analysis. He was a very talentedmusician, which explains his strong interest in acoustics andhigh-fidelity audio devices. He demanded much of hisassociates, though he always drove himself with even greaterintensity.

In the book Maverick Inventor, My Turbulent Years at CBS,published with Lee Edson (Saturday Review Press/E. P.Dutton & Company, New York, 1973) Goldmark describedrather vividly his experiences within CBS and admitted thatat times his intense dedication to work must have been hardon his family. Actually, he was a good family man, with fourchildren from his first wife Frances Trainer, from whom hewas divorced in 1954, and two children from his second wifeDiane Davis, his former secretary.

His untimely death in an automobile accident on his wayto New York, on December 8, 1977, shocked the world androbbed it of a valued citizen, driving innovator, and many-sided inventor.

i AM INDEBTED particularly to Benjamin Bauer, close associate ofPeter Goldmark, for his own version of a memoir that he preparedfor the National Academy of Engineering; to John Dyer (who wasan associate of Goldmark until World War II) for valuable sugges-tions; to Fred Terman for some personal notes; and to John M.Hollywood, who worked with Goldmark at CBS from 1936 until1971 with only four years' interruption, and then joined GoldmarkCommunications Corporation in Stamford, for valuable com-ments.

302 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS

MAJOR HONORS AND AWARDS

1942 Election to Fellow, Institute of Radio Engineers1945 Morris N. Liebman Memorial Prize, Institute of Radio

Engineers1954 Television Broadcasters Association Medal1960 Achievement Award, Professional Group on Audio, Insti-

tute of Radio Engineers1961 Vladimir K. Zworykin Prize, "for outstanding technical

contribution in the field of electronic television," Insti-tute of Radio Engineers

1967 Election to membership, National Academy of Engineering1968 National Urban Service Award "for his efforts in the War on

Poverty"Fellow, Society of Motion Picture and Television EngineersD. Sc. (Hon.), Fairfield University, Connecticut

1969 David Sarnoff Gold Medal, "for outstanding scientific con-tribution to the Advancement of Television Technolo-gy," Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

Elliott Cresson Medal, "for his many outstanding contribu-tions to the Field of Electronics," Franklin Institute,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

D. Eng. (Hon.), Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, New YorkAmerican Women in Radio and Television Award

1972 Election to membership, National Academy of SciencesElection to Fellow of American Academy of Arts and

Sciences, Boston, MassachusettsCarnegie-Mellon Institute Medal, "for continuing leader-

ship and contributions to the betterment of Science forMankind"

Industrial Research Institute Medal1976 Election to membership in the Connecticut Academy of

Science and Engineering1977 National Medal of Science, "for contributions to the devel-

opment of the communications sciences for education,entertainment, culture, and human service."

PETER CARL GOLDMARK 303

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

1942With J. N. Dyer, E. R. Piore, and J. M. Hollywood. Colour

television—Part I. Proc. Inst. Radio Engrs., March.

1943

With E. R. Piore, J. M. Hollywood, T. H. Chambers, and J. J.Reeves. Colour television—Part II. Proc. Inst. Radio Engrs.,September.

1950With Rene Snepvangers and William S. Bachman. The Columbia

long-playing microgroove recording system. Proc. Inst. RadioEngrs., August.

1951With J. W. Christensen and J. J. Reeves. Color television—USA

standard. Proc. Inst. Radio Engrs., October.With J. M. Hollywood. A new technique for improving the sharp-

ness of television pictures. Proc. Inst. Radio Engrs., October.

1958

Latest advances in extra fine groove recording. J. Audio Eng. Soc,July.

1959

With John M. Hollywood. Psychoacoustics applied to stereophonicreproduction systems. J. Audio Eng. Soc, April.

1962

With W. S. Bachman and B. B. Bauer. Disk recording and repro-duction. Proc. Inst. Radio Engrs., May.

Communications and electronics—2012 A.D. Proc. Inst. RadioEngrs., May.

1970

Color EVR. IEEE Spectrum, September: 22-23.Electronic video recording. Eur. Broadcast. Union Rev., Tech. No.

121: 1-23.